How to Read the Air, 2010, Dinaw Mengestu ****

"Like most of the men he was thirsty all the time, and he was convinced that there was something irreparably cruel about a place that put water that could not be drunk in front of you"

"The ships that you see at the far end of the port are all government controlled,... They carry one of two things: food or weapons. We don't make either of them in Sudan"

"I know what you want, he would shout. You want me to go back and have  me dead." In the way he phrased it, death always sounded less like a condition and more like an item from a grocery list. You want me to go back and get the fish. Or You want me to go back and get more bread."

Jonas trying to make sense of his existence, the broken relationship with his parents and the failed marriage to his wife Angela, has to invent a story for

Lyrics Alley, 2010, Leila Aboulela ****

Mahmoud Bey, fallen out of love with his first wife, Waheeba, brought in to his traditional Sudanese household a beautiful Egyptian woman as his second wife. Filing for divorce would have been best before marrying for the second time, however, he decided not to. Perhaps, it was because of the two sons he has with her (Waheeba)? Nassir and Nur. Though, Nassir was hopeless and Nur who was assumed would take up the family business ended up helpless.
Mahomoud Bey's brother, Idris with whom he lives and runs the family business, is widowed with three daughters. His first daughter was barely mentioned, the second daughter, Fatima, married her (hopeless) cousin Nassir, while Soraya was informally betrothed to his cousin Nur, everyone's favourite until calamity befell him.

As you can see "Lyrics Alley" narrates the story of a wealthy Sudanese family striving against all odds to live up to their reputation. Keeping up with old tradition and culture that shows little or no regard for women. Even though, their younger generation were singing a different tune.

I discovered Leila Aboulela through her short stories, she has a somewhat intimate way of narrating. I went ahead and read Minaret and really enjoyed it. I cannot say the same for Lyrics Alley. It is not a family saga, not even close to it, it is simply a very well written love story that unfolded in a family setting. Do not be deceived with the family tree at the beginning of the novel (which helped). Nonetheless, there is no dramatic metamorphosis, it is more or less a 300 pages novel. I recommend.

Minaret, 2005, Leila Aboulela *****

"Minaret" narrates the downfall of a wealthy Sudanese family through the voice of their twin daughter, Najwa.

Najwa's downfall started with the arrest and execution of her father in Sudan during a coup d'état. Consequently, she fled to England with her twin brother and mother. In England, her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness while her twin brother, as a result of his drug addiction, was arrested and jailed.

"It was becoming clear that I had come down in the world. I had skidded and plunged after my father's execution and through my mother's illness, when I dropped out of college, then after Omar's arrest and through my relationship with Anwar....We didn't know we  were being exiled, we didn't know we were seeking asylum.... She employed me as a maid and I became one. I was a servant like the servants my parents had employed"

As was to be expected, Najwa was emotionally and physically chattered. She was desperately seeking to be healed as well as regaining her sense of belonging. Fortunately, she found help in Islamic religion. Where she eventually found solace, guidance and peace of mind. 

"I would leave the mosque refreshed, wide awake and calm, almost happy.... I reached out for something new. I reached out for spiritual pleasure."

Moreover, she came to accept her current situation by putting the past behind her. Only in her dreams did she go back to Sudan to relish the life she had once lived and had always desired.

Aboulela's works I read in "Gods and Soldiers" and "African Love Stories" compelled me to purchase her novel. I am glad I did. Her characters, mostly females, are subtle, delicate, subdued (kind of) and at the same time strong spirited. "Minaret" was beautifully written. I found it realistic, though-provoking and engaging, that I kept on thinking about it days later. Quite an emotive read.
Najwa gave an intimate account of her spiritual journey towards accepting her comedown. Finally, this novel gave me a whole different perspective on the Islamic religion. One of my favourites, I look forward to reading more from Leila Aboulela. She is such a talented writer. I highly recommend. 

Long listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2006.

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, 2006, by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng and Benjamin Ajak with Judy A. Bernstein *****

I just finished reading this book. Its title caught my eye along with colour of the cover, yellow, it seems like the boys (drawings in the middle) are burning inside fire, but then you see one of them with a white sac and the other  in the middle with a red short. That was the first thing that drew my attention, and then I read critics and praises and I said to myself this book is a must read.

My third non-fiction book I have read about war in the African continent, the first one is A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, second My father, Maker of the trees by Eric they are absolutely 3 different book written from different perspectives and 3 different countries of Africa; west, east and south.

"They Poures Fire on US From the Sky" is a page turner, I love it, an easy read.

In this Non-fiction novel 3 family members tell the story of how they survived the war that erupted in Sudan in 1987 when they were only between the tender ages of 5 and 7 years old. They narrated how their lives were before the war (it was an amazing simple life), how the war took them by surprise, how they suffered from hunger, thirsty and always on the point of losing their lives wandering from one place to another in search of a safe refugee camp and ended up turning into The Lost Boys of Sudan. Luckily, the government of the USA relocated a lot of them to the United States of America in order for them to have a better life.

This book gave me an insight into Sudan's state of politics and history. It also made me aware of the lost boys of Sudan and how hard life in refugee camp could be, and what it would feel like to be a refugee, how important it is to be together in moments of perseverance. Yes, I recommend you to read this book.